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GEORGE CARDWELL; 



OR, 



% Utonfjr in a Cffttttirg famjj. 



BY N. D. MORGAN. 



" But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied 
tho faith, and is worse than an infidel."— Tim., v. 8. ^ggpi^, 




NEW-YORK : 



DANA AND COMPANY 

381 Br o ad way. 



1856. 









Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by 

N. D. MORGAN, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the 



Southern District of New-York. 



PUDNEY & RUSSELL, PRINTERS, 
79 John-Street, N. Y. 



M The practice of Life Insurance, in any country, indicates 

A STATE OF SOCIETY WHERE HIGH MORAL FEELING AND COMMERCIAL 

confidence exist." — Jenkin Jones. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTION 



Aim of the Writer — Want of Information on the subject of Life 
Insurance — Its applicability to the every-day wants of life not appre- 
ciated — Advertisements do not reach the minds of the people- 
Literature of Life Insurance — Price, Pocock, De Morgan— Writers 
Invited to the Work — Educate the School-boy. 



CHAPTER I. 

Meeting of Mr, Pendleton and Judge Mason — Sad Information — 
Paying off Mortgage — Death of George Cardwell — Arrangements for 
the Funeral — What Judge Mason thinks of Life Insurance — Was 
George Cardwell's life Insured 1 — Rich Estates. 



CHAPTER II. 

Mr. Pendleton Leaves the Judge — Mr. Pendleton talks with his wife 
about Insuring his Life — No Encouragement from that Quarter — Mr. 
Pendleton passes an uneasy night — Determines not to pass another 
such — Goes to the Village, and while there Insures his Life — Judge 
Mason and Mr. Goodlove — Practical Christian — Causes of Crime — 
Remedy. 



CHAPTER III. 

Day of the Funeral — The Church — The Sermon — Mr. Pendleton's 
Secret — Mr. P. "set" in his ways — Burning of his Barn — Running in 
Debt. 



D TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

House of Mr Pendleton after the Funeral of George Cardwell — 
Mrs. Pendleton's consent to an Insurance on the Life of her Husband 
— Too late to Disapprove — Mr. Pendleton Insured — Joy of the Couple 
— Happy Evening — Family Devotions — Not Afraid to Die. 



CHAPTER V. 

Keeping an Appointment — The Judge's Library — Works on Life 
Insurance — No New Thing Under the Sun — Cost of Insurance Well 
Thought of — Pious Fraud — Forgiveness — Mr. Pendleton Eloquent — 
Congratulation. 



CHAPTER VI. 

The House of the Widow Cardwell — Character of the Wife of 
George Cardwell — Responsibility of a Mother — Doing a Duty — George 
Cardwell, at the suggestion of his Wife, Insures his Life — Payment 
of the Policy — Payment of the Mortgage — Money in Bank — Happy 
Family. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Change of Scene — Death-bed of Judge Mason — Family Affairs — 
Nancy Mason — The Orphans — Funeral of the Judge. 



APPENDIX. 

Insurance of the Lives of Clergymen — Crime and its Causes — Relief 
for Widows and Orphans — Bibliographical Catalogue of Works on 
Life Insurance, &c. 



"Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the father- 
less, AND HIM THAT HAD NONE TO HELP HIMJ THE BLESSING OF HIM 
THAT WAS READY TO PERISH CAME UPON ME : AND I CAUSED THE 
WIDOW'S HEART TO SING FOR JOY." — Job XXIX. 11, 13. 



INTRODUCTION. 



INTRODUCTION, 



In presenting to the public the following pages, 
it has been the sole aim of the writer to render to 
that public a benefit, convinced that if the public 
mind can be directed or induced to consider the 
importance of Life Insurance, hundreds, nay, thou- 
sands will be found ready and anxious to avail 
themselves of the safeguard vouchsafed to them by 
this eminently moral, humane, and Christian 
Institution. 

That more have not already enrolled themselves 
as members of Life Assurance Associations, is be- 
cause the community are not advised of the 
advantages to be derived from such investment. 

In those sections of the country where Life 
Insurance is now most practised, the subject is 
but imperfectly understood, and among the most 



10 INTRODUCTION. 

enlightened and best educated — those who may be 
supposed to understand the subject scientifically, 
its applicability to the every-day wants of the 
community is to a great extent unappreciated. 

It is not the fault of the people that they do 
not comprehend the working of a system 01 
which they have but scarcely heard. The busi- 
ness cards of the several Institutions, which from 
day to day appear in the newspapers, are passed 
over by the general reader as a matter not de- 
manding attention. The handsomely printed 
" Prospectus " so extensively circulated, is looked 
upon with but little more favor, and is cast aside 
among the thousand and one similar documents 
of an advertising character. 

Life Insurance, however, is not without a liter-' 
ature, and however small claim this little effort 
may have to take a place in any department, the 
writer is proud to say that the subject is not un- 
worthy of treatment by no mean pen. A Price, 
a Pocock, a De Morgan, and many others, have 
done much to enlighten the world on this most 
interesting and all-important subject. But their 



INTRODUCTION. 11 

works are of a scientific character, and wholly 
unsuited to the wants of the general reader. The 
subject, therefore, is in need of a literature of a 
popular character, and it is to be hoped that its 
importance will, at no distant day, stimulate some 
friend of humanity to devote the talent which he 
may possess, in producing a popular treatise here 
suggested. This little volume, of course, makes 
no pretensions in such direction. It is put forth, 
however, not without hope that it may, in the 
" changes and chances," fall upon some patches of 
"good soil," spring up, and bring forth fruit an 
hundred fold — that it may be like the seed of 
faith, springing into a goodly tree, with branches 
wide-spreading, and protecting from the blasts of 
adversity, the widows and orphaned sons and 
daughters of our land — that it may be the begin- 
ning of a new era, and the advent of an extended 
and systematic adoption of the principle, that to 
every man whose income depends on his own life 
or exertions, and on whom others are dependent 
for support, an Insurance on his life is a para- 
mount duty. i 



12 



INTRODUCTION. 



Let this principle be inculcated in our schools, 
and our sons and daughters who are soon to be 
fathers and mothers, will understand their duty to 
themselves, their family, their neighbor and their 
God. 



GEORGE CARDWELL; 



% P0iit| in a Couitirg fjarbjr- 



CHAPTER I. 



It was on a sharp frosty morning in early No- 
vember, that Mr. Pendleton, with clown-cast looks, 
and quick nervous movement, passed up the leaf- 
covered avenue leading to the old family mansion 
of Judge Mason. Approaching the entrance, he was 
accosted by the Judge with a frank 

" Good morning, Mr. Pendleton : where have you 
been so early, and why so sober?" 

" (rood morning, Judge : well may you ask, why 
so sober. I am just returning from our neighbor 
Card well, who, but an hour since, breathed his last. 
Have you not heard, Judge, of the sad accident 
which occurred yesterday, in the family of our 
nearest neighbor?" 



14 GEORGE CARDWELL J OR, 

" "Why not a word of it. Pray, what has hap- 
pened ?" 

" Is it possible that you are not informed of the 
terrible circumstance of yesterday ? But then I sup- 
pose they were so much occupied with running for 
a Doctor, and such like, they had no time to come 
up here. And, indeed, had I not been passing the 
house at the time, I should probably have been as 
ignorant as yourself, Judge, of the great cala- 
mity." 

" Not a word of it, — not a word of it. Pray, 
proceed." 

" Well, Judge, you know that Mr. Cardwell was 
about paying off the mortgage on his little place, 
and had called in his money which he had loaned 
out among his neighbors ; I myself owed him three 
hundred dollars, which I paid only last Monday. 
Well, you know he was about paying off the mort- 
gage—" 

" Yes, Mr. Pendleton, I was aware of that, — I 
was aware of that. Pray, Mr. Pendleton, go on, — 
go on." 

"Well, he had just packed up his money, and, 
while changing his coat, laid it on the mantle- 
shelf, when, by some accident or other, the package 
was knocked off the shelf into the great blazing 
fire, and in the attempt of Mr. Cardwell, poor fel- 



A MONTH IN A COUNTRY PARISH. 15 

low ! to extricate and save his money, he was most 
awfully burned in his hands and wrists, which, 
after a night of agony, caused his death but an 
hour since." 

" Why, Mr. Pendleton, you pain me beyond mea- 
sure, with the sad story. Poor fellow, indeed, — 
poor fellow, indeed, — after having strived for more 
than five years to save up the money to clear his 
little place, to have the fond hopes of his family 
blasted at one fell swoop." 

" Yes, Judge, it's a sad business, indeed. I really 
do not know what will be done by the disconsolate 
w T idow, who, you know, has now six young child- 
ren, and among them no boys old enough to take 
charge of the farm. George is, I believe, only 
eleven. I am sure my heart bleeds for them, but 
I am almost wholly unable to aid them, except 
with words of encouragement and advice." 

" Truly, Mr. Pendleton, they are in the midst of 
great affliction, and we must do what we can for 
the widow and the orphan, and we must not allow 
our good intentions and sympathy to remain inope- 
rative after the remains of our friend and neighbor 
are placed in the silent grave. When is the fu- 
neral to take place, Mr. Pendleton ? " 

" I can't say for certain, but I recommended to- 
morrow, at four o'clock, and I told Mrs. Card well 



If) GEORGE CARD WELL J OR, 

that I would consult you about it, — and if you 
thought best, it would be fixed for that hour. What 
is your opinion. Judge, about it ? 5? 

"A very proper hour. Will you attend to the 
arrangements ?" 

" Yes, Judge, I will arrange all, if you will take 
upon yourself the seeing Mr. Groodlove. Mr. Card- 
well, you know, for the sake of his wife's feelings, 
always went to the church, although he himself 
was not a communicant; — but somehow, Judge, I 
always thought he was at heart a churchman." 

" Yery likely ; his father was a churchman, as 
was also his mother a church worn an, and distin- 
guished for her great personal piety. You never 
knew the Cardvvell family, I take it, Mr. Pendle- 
ton. Excellent people, — excellent people." 

" No, Judge, my acquaintance with the family 
extends only to that of our departed friend. Speak- 
ing of church matters, Judge, did you know whether 
Mr. Card well ever insured his life ? You know he 
was very active in securing the insurance on the 
life of our minister, Mr. Groodlove ; of course, you 
are aware of his instrumentality in that matter, for 
I saw your name down for twenty dollars, and 
although I am not a rich man, and so able to give 
as some others, I was prompted to give half that 
sum for the sake of our good pastor, notwithstanding 



A MONTH IN A COUNTRY PARISH. 17 

I knew but little of the subject. But I was going 
to say, that the thought has occurred to me, since 
I left his house, that, as Mr. Cardwell had taken 
so much interest in the family of our Rector, per- 
haps he had taken the same in his own, and secured 
a like insurance on his own life. n 

" Now you make mention of it, Mr. Pendleton, 
I do remember of his having spoken to me on the 
subject of Life Insurance, asking my opinion re- 
garding his own case. This was two years since, 
if I remember rightly." 

" "Well, Judge, what was your opinion in his 
case, and what is your opinion in my case ? I have 
been thinking about it, and have thought sometime 
I would come up and have a talk with you on 
the subject." 

" What do I think about it ? Why, my good 
friend, I am surprised that any difference of opinion 
can exist on a subject so manifestly advantageous, 
not only to individuals, but to the community, — 
I'm surprised, I'm surprised. My experience as 
a Magistrate, my experience as a Probate Judge, 
has made me familiar with the causes of crime and 
poverty, — or rather poverty and crime, for, in nine 
cases out of ten, crime follows poverty. What, 
then, should be my opinion of a system which, if 
universal, would banish from our land nine-tenths 



18 GEORGE CARDWELL J OR, 

of the crime which now engages our courts of law, 
taxing our people, and bringing misery upon the 
innocent heads of millions of the children of the po- 
verty-stricken and depraved ! I told Mr. Cardweli, 
sir, to lose no time in effecting an insurance upon 
his life for a sum at least sufficient to pay off* his 
mortgage, and he told me he should do it. He was 
a man of his word, and I shall at once go down 
and look into it ; for I am certain his life was in- 
sured. Let me say to you, my good friend, that 
if you are in debt for your place, or for anything 
else, go and insure your life for the amount, and 
for as much more as you can safely calculate your 
ability to meet the annual premium. And, if it 
will be any satisfaction to you, I will inform you 
that my own life is insured for a sum sufficient to 
pay for the education of my three grandchildren, 
orphans of my son, John Marshall. 55 

" You surprise me, when you tell me your life 
is insured. I should think that a man of your age, 
would have to pay so high a rate of premium as to 
render inoperative the alleged advantages of the 
system, — or, that you were possessed of so much of 
this world 5 s goods as to satisfy you, and spare from 
your estate a sum sufficient to endow your grand- 
children with a fortune. 55 

" Don't be deceived by appearances, Mr. Pendle- 



A MONTH IN A COUNTRY PARISH. 19 

ton. As I said before, my experience in probate 
has put me in possession of facts in regard to the 
settlement of estates, which teach me that little 
confidence can be placed in appearances. Many 
of our richest estates in this county it has been 
my business to close, and but few are found free 
from encumbrance of a serious nature. And, as 
regards my age in effecting insurance on my life, 
rendering the advantage less than at a younger 
age, you must more fully understand the system. 
Time will not allow for a full illustration, and we 
will, with your permission, postpone the discussion 
until after the funeral of our friend, when I shall 
be most happy to exhibit to you, in my library, 
numerous works on the subject, and explain the 
whole matter to you. And I shall be the more 
happy to do so, because if I prevail upon you to 
insure your life, I shall feel conscious of having 
done you a personal favor, and performed a neigh- 
borly duty ; and which act of duty is certain 
to be blessed from the very nature of the sub- 
ject, the mutability of all things human, growing 
out of the declaration of God : — ; dust thou art, 
and unto dust shalt thou return. ' I shall now 
go down to the CardwelPs, calling upon Mr. 
Groodlove on the way. Good morning, — good 
morning." 



20 GEORGE CARDWELL ; OR, 

" (rood morning, Judge. I shall keep you to 
your engagement in regard to that Life Insurance 
business, for I feel that I ought to be insured, 
and can hardly wait to be convinced. Grood 
morning." 



A MONTH IN A COUNTRY PARISH. 21 



CHAPTER II. 

Mr. Pendleton leaves the Judge, and spends the 
day in preparation for the funeral ; "but his mind 
is ill at ease about that insurance. He talked 
with his wife about it, and she did not give him 
much encouragement. She can't see what right 
a man has to fight Providence ; Mr. G-oodlove may 
explain it, but she can ? t see into it. Poor 
Mr. Pendleton can't sleep for thinking of the hair- 
breadth escapes he has had. Once in the woods 
chopping, when the tree fell so near him as to 
crush his foot ; and the last spring, in shingling 
the barn, what a narrow escape that was, — only 
saved by being caught in the bight of the rope used 
in hoisting up the shingles. Twenty times in the 
course of the night did he start, imagining himself 
falling from some lofty scaffold, or about being 
crushed beneath some giant night-mare ; and 
Mr. Pendleton was no coward, but the bravest of 
men. He knew his duty when courage was needed, 
and never shrank from it. He also knew his 



22 GEORGE CARDWELL ; OR, 

situation in regard to money matters, and he too 
well knew what would be the condition of his 
family, should one of the events happen which 
were crowding on his imagination. He determined 
that another such night should not be passed by 
him, and, although he did not altogether understand 
how it worked, he was determined that in the morn- 
ing, when in the village, (where he had to go for 
the coffin,) he would at once insure his life, and 
afterwards go to the Judge and be " convinced ; " 
" converted, " said he, " I am already. I am 
satisfied that it is my duty, therefore I have but 
one way to pursue. Curiosity, and a desire for 
information, may be satisfied at another time." 

In this state of mind Mr. Pendleton started for 
the village, leaving his wife in the mean time to 
assist in arranging the house of the mourners. 

Judge Mason, after parting with Mr. Pendleton' 
as before related, called at the Parsonage to see 
Mr. G-oodlove, but learned that he had just gone 
down to the Cardwells, having been informed of the 
casualty. The Judge, after taking leave of the 
wife of the kind rector, proceeded to the house of 
mourning, where he found Mr. Groodlove and some 
two or three neighbors. 

After giving some advice regarding the obsequies 
of the next day, he handed his reverend friend into 



A MONTH IN A COUNTRY PARISH. 23 

his gig, and proceeded to the village, for the 
purpose of ascertaining about the insurance, which 
he felt certain had been effected on the life of his 
friend, George Cardwell. 

The books of the Insurance Agency were freely 
shown to the Judge, and the name of George Card- 
well was found duly recorded, insured for Two Thou- 
sand Dollars, with the premiums all promptly paid. 

" Just as I expected, " said the Judge, as he 
banded his reverend friend into his gig. " George 
was a sensible, clever man ; I wish there were more 
like him. Then would the hearth of the ividoiv be 
safe from the tread of the Sheriff, and the cry of 
the orphan be hushed. A good practical Chris- 
tian, Mr. Goodlove, who provides for his own house- 
hold." 

" Yes, Judge, I have no reason to find fault with 
our deceased brother. He was a good practical 
Christian, — one who made no ostentatious display 
of piety, but whose works were of an efficient and 
telling nature. But, Judge, I think I detect a 
double meaning to your remark in relation to a 
' practical Christian, ' and, if I am right, you do our 
departed friend injustice, for he not only practiced 
Christianity, but professed it before men also ; a 
fact, of which you are probably not aware, inasmuch 
as his public profession is of but recent date, and 



24 GEORGE CARDWELL ; OR, 

took place but two weeks since ; just previous to 
your return from Europe. 

" Indeed ! Then I did do him injustice, and I 
confess to the impeachment of a double meaning ; 
but I did it to draw you out on a point of some 
controversy." 

" "Well, Judge, let us see. This man who has 
gone to his rest, has done in the act of insuring his 
life, what ? a bad deed ? No. He has insured his 
life ; for that is the point on which this controversy 
is based. He has insured his life for the benefit 
of his widow and orphan children. This has he 
done entirely for the benefit of others, not one 
particle of benefit can possibly inure to himself. # 
Indeed, he deprives himself of many hard-earned 
dollars every year, that he may do good to others. 
Certainly, selfishness has nothing to do in this mat- 
ter. A more unselfish act can hardly be con- 
ceived. This act, then, is a good one. He has 
done a good work, a Christian deed, Christian 
because Christ-like, — not from a love of Christ, 
or because the objects of the deed are of the 
' household of Christ ; ' of these things "he may 
know nothing. It is enough that he is anxious 
to do good. G-od has endowed him with intelli 



* See Appendix. 



A MONTH IN A COUNTRY PARISH. 25 

gence, and he has used that intelligence in a work of 
mercy, that great attribute of the Almighty. He 
has, so far as human judgment can determine, 
saved that family from penury, and in doing this 
has without doubt, saved the younger portion from 
crime, which, in so many instances, follows close 
on the heels of poverty. I say then, that if our 
friend has used that intelligence which (rod has 
given him to such a result, his work is blessed, 
and we poor mortals are not allowed to judge the 
result to his immortal soul." 

" I understand you, Mr. Groodlove, Mr. Cardwell 
has done his duty to his family, and to the communi- 
ty, — all praiseworthy acts ; but, after all, comes 
short of his whole duty, inasmuch as his acts are 
not prompted by the grace of Grod ; and therefore 
are not counted unto him for righteousness. " 

" As I said before, we are not allowed to judge 
of the effect upon the soul, of any act of man. Pos- 
sessed of such power or right to judge, works alone 
would be all-sufficient. It is always safe to do well y 
and our constant aim should be, to advance in the 
right direction ; for in that way, and that alone, 
can we ever reach the goal. The very effort to 
reach a goal, is a confession that a goal exists ; and 
as none will exhibit anxiety to obtain other than 
an agreeable termination to their pilgrimage, cer- 

2 



26 GEORGE CARDWELL J OR, 

tainly they must do works meet for such result. 
My views of the whole matter may be expressed 
in this wise. No man does a good action, (unal- 
loyed with selfish motives, and the good the only 
object,) without the grace of Grod prompting; and, 
therefore, our friend in insuring his life, did so 
with these conditions : ergo, the grace of G-od was 
operative in his case, as the sequel of his life 
proves. " 

" I agree with you, Mr. Groodlove, touching the 
grace of God prompting to good actions with pro- 
per motives. It is the devil who prompts to good 
actions from improper motives." 

"Did I understand you to say, that in a majority 
of cases, your experience as a Pastor has con- 
firmed you in the belief that crime is the immediate 
consequence of poverty. " 

" I so stated, and such is my firm conviction. 
Take away poverty, and give only competence, 
and the incentives to virtue are increased ninety- 
fold. What is the experience of Mr. Pease, at 
the Five Points, in the city of New- York ? Ask 
the criminals themselves, located in that hot-bed 
of iniquity. Did any of them jump into crime 
from a position of competence ? Take my own 
parish, here in the virtuous ' Rural Districts, [ and 
what is the picture ? Every case of crime under 



A MONTH IN A COUNTRY PARISH. 27 

the law has been induced by poverty. Intem- 
perance induces poverty, but poverty does not always 
involve crime. We have in our own church an 
' abundance ' of the poor always with us, — noble 
examples of Christian faith and practice. But, 
Judge, your experience as a Magistrate must have 
afforded you a favorable opportunity for forming an 
opinion on this important subject of cause and 
effect. " 

" Yes, it has, and I freely concur with you, 
that poverty, no matter from what cause, 
is the great parent of crime ; and that the 
only way to effectually stop crime, is to stop 
poverty ; and the best way to prevent poverty 
is, by the intelligent and systematic use of Life 
Insurance" 

" I think with you, Judge, that Life Insurance is 
a powerful lever in the great work of ameliorating 
the condition of the people. I am informed that, 
during the two years last past, the enormous sum 
of eleven hundred thousand dollars was paid to 
widows and orphans, in the State of New- York 
alone. # That this sum has been the means of 
keeping alive the cheerful blaze on more than five 
hundred hearth-stones, clothing, feeding, and edu- 

* See Appendix. 



28 GEORGE CARDWELL ] OR, 

eating more than twenty-seven hundred fatherless 
orphans. By-the-by, Judge, should not our excel- 
lent friend, Mr. Pendleton, insure his life ? I have 
heard that the repairs on his farm-buildings, par- 
tially destroyed by fire last winter, have involved 
him in a considerable debt, which, should he die, 
would hazard the possession of his farm to his 
family." 

" I have this very morning been talking with 
him on the subject, and am to have a further 
conference with him in a day or two, at my house, 
by special appointment." 

" I am very glad to hear it, and trust you may 
convince him of the propriety, nay, duty, of imme- 
diately ' setting his house in order,' for an event 
which, in the providence of Grod, may come upon 
him in an hour he thinks not of." 

Our worthy Pastor, with his learned friend and 
church-warden, had reached the gate which ex- 
cluded from the glebe the stray cattle which, in 
the rustic village, were suffered to run at large. 
Mr. Groodlove alighted, and shaking, w T armly, the 
hand of Judge Mason, the two friends parted : the 
Parson to his study, the Judge to his office, — the 
Rector to prepare for the solemnities of the mor- 
row, the Judge to devise some plan to benefit his 
neighbor. 



A MONTH IN A COUNTRY PARISH. 29 

Judge Mason was a good man, of one of the 
oldest families in the county, and possessed of a 
moderate fortune in his own right, with a life 
interest in the valuable estate on which he resided. 
He was full of benevolence and kindly feeling, a 
firm believer in the Christian religion, zealous in 
works of mercy and charity, and never ceasing in 
efforts to do good. 



30 



OR, 



CHAPTER III. 

The day of the funeral found our friends all 
present at the house of mourning, and at the 
church. 

The deep-toned organ poured forth a solemn 
strain, as the funeral procession entered the west- 
ern door, and passed up the nave to the open space 
under the chancel arch. 

Fitful streams of colored light played upon the 
vestments of the clergymen as they ascended the 
steps of the chancel ; and when the remains of 
the dead rested in their place, but a few feet from 
the spot where so recently the living man had 
knelt to receive the bread of life, voices from 
an invisible choir were heard to sing, " Lord, let 
me know my end, and the number of my days, 
that I may be certified how long I have to live." 

The sermon was preached by the Rector, who 
recited passages in the history of the good man 
departed, which showed him a man of deep-seated 



A MONTH IN A COUNTRY PARISH. 31 

piety, whose every effort was to do his duty in 
his generation, and in the sphere in which it had 
pleased Grod to place him. 

The preacher could not allow the opportunity to 
pass without alluding to the provision which had 
been made by the deceased for the protection of 
his family in the possession of their home; and in 
doing so, could but urge upon all others to go and 
do likewise, — not as a worldly measure would he 
urge it, but as one of far more importance, ha- 
zarding, in the neglect, the interests of the souls 
of children, and men and women, yet unborn. 

He thanked the people of his parish for the kind 
interest manifested in his own case, in the hand- 
some donation to his family of a Policy of Insu- 
rance on his own life, procured, as he had reason 
to believe,, by the instrumentality of his departed 
parishioner. # 

After the remains of Mr. Cardwell had been 
committed to the tomb, " dust to dust, ashes to 
ashes, earth to earth," the funeral cortege, as is 
usual in the country, returned to the now lonely 
home of the widow, where the neighbors took 
kindly leave of the afflicted family, and departed 
for their several homes. 

* See Appendix, 



32 GEORGE CARDWELL J OR, 

On the way, Judge Mason accosted our friend 
Mr. Pendleton, and invited him to stop and talk 
over the subject of Life Insurance, as had been 
previously arranged. But Mr. Pendleton was not 
disposed to stop that evening ; his feelings were 
of too happy a nature to allow him to wait. He 
wanted to hasten home, and show to his wife the 
document by which he had secured to her and 
her little ones a sure refuge in the hour of their 
greatest earthly disaster. 

Mr. Pendleton had, while in the village, effected 
an insurance on his life, and he was not disposed 
to tell the Judge of his hasty action, desiring to 
appear somewhat more circumspect in a transac- 
tion of so grave a character. He, therefore, kept 
his secret, and, bidding the Judge a good evening, 
hastened to his home. 

Mr. Pendleton was a farmer who had lived in, 
the neighbourhood of the Judge some twelve years, 
having purchased and paid for the farm on which 
he lived. 

He was of strictly temperate and industrious 
habits, of good common education, and a church- 
man. 

Fond of accumulating property, — not for the 
sake of accumulation, but for the sake of the 
good it can be made to accomplish, — Mr. Pen- 



A MONTH IN A COUNTRY PARISH. 33 

dleton was a liberal man, and deemed it a real 
privilege to be called upon to contribute to objects 
of charity, and was always ready to respond to 
such calls to the full extent of his ability. Mr. 
Pendleton, however, had some faults ; and who has 
not ? Mr. Pendleton was oftentimes " set " in 
his ways. He never would insure his house or 
his barns. He did not believe in it. It would 
do very well for careless people. He never allowed 
a lantern to go into his stables ; and as for the 
house, he always raked up the fires at night 
himself. 

But, with all his care and caution, his barn did 
get on fire, and his house, too ; and the repairs 
cost him the good bit of two thousand dollars, for 
which he had to run in debt, and mortgage his 
farm. It was well they succeeded in saving the 
house, with but a slight damage ; for had the 
house been destroyed, as was the barn, it would 
have been a bad night's job for our farmer. 

Mr. Pendleton was a conscientious man, and 
would not do a thing his conscience forbade ; nor 
would he leave a thing undone, when convinced 
of the propriety of doing it. He was, therefore, 
an impulsive man; and hence his zeal and prompt 
action in effecting the insurance on his life, when 
once convinced of his duty in that direction. 

2* 



34 GEORGE CARDWELL J OR, 

Mr. Pendleton was a kind and provident hus- 
band and father, and his heart leaped to his 
throat as he stepped into the presence of his wife 
and children on his return from the funeral. 

Mrs. Pendleton, having young children, did not 
accompany her husband to the house of Mrs. 
Card well, but after the services at the church, 
had, with her eldest son, a lad of about twelve 
years of age, driven directly home. 



A MONTH IN A COUNTRY PARISH. 35 



CHAPTER IV. 

" Well, Mr. Pendleton," says Mrs. P., after her 
husband had seated himself at the fire, with Mary 
on one knee and little Sammy on the other, " I 
have nothing more to say against your insuring 
your life, for Mr. Groodlove has made it so plainly 
your duty, that I am sure you would not heed it 
if I did continue my objections ; and now, as we 
have been obliged to mortgage our farm to raise 
money to repair the house, and build a new barn, 
I do think we ought, for the sake of our children, 
try and secure ourselves against a calamity, which 
I pray (rod in his mercy may be long averted." 

" Yes, my dear, " replied Mr. Pendleton, " we 
are all mortals, and the scene of to-day should 
remind us of the shortness and uncertainty of 
human life, and that in the midst of life we are 
in death ; and I am very glad that anything our 
good minister has said, has been the means of 
reconciling you to approve of my insuring my life 



36 GEORGE CARDWELL J OR, 

for your own and our children's benefit ; for you 
know I dislike to oppose in anything reasonable. 
I did oppose you about the insuring our barn, and 
the result has been disastrous to us. But, as I 
was saying, I am glad you have consented to 
approve of my insuring my life." 

" My dear husband, why do you say approve. 
I am sure I should be very sorry to disapprove of 
any course you, in your superior judgment, deem 
fit to pursue. Why do you use the word approve, 
husband ?" 

" It is, because I have already done that which 
it is now too late to recommend ; and, therefore, I 
say I am glad you are prepared to approve of my 
act." 

Tears of affection burst forth from the eyes of 
our hardy farmer, as he pulled from his pocket the 
great sheet of parchment, and displayed it to the 
wondering eyes of his astonished wife. He now 
recited all the circumstances in relation to his 
" exercise of mind " about this insurance ; his talk 
with the Judge, and his appointment for another 
interview ; how he could not wait, &c. ; all of 
which was very amasing to the loving wife. The 
children had to look at the picture of the Indian 
reclining on the bank of the stream, emblematical 
of the passing away of life. They could not un- 



A MONTH IN A COUNTRY PARISH. 37 

derstand about the talk between papa and mamma, 
nor could they reconcile the smiles of approval of 
their mother, with the tears and sobs of their 
father. Poor things, they will know all about 
such matters soon enough ! 

Mr. Pendleton was a devout man, and after he 
had carefully placed his newly-acquired treasure 
in his tin box, where he kept his valuable papers, 
he called, as was his custom, his family around 
him for evening devotion. With a heart full of 
kindly emotions, and a sense of having done a duty, 
not only to his family, but to his Grod, he com- 
mitted himself and family through the dark hours 
of the night to the care of an all-seeing and pro- 
tecting Providence, with a prayer, that, amid the 
manifold changes and chances of this mortal life, 
they might be defended by His ready help, and that 
they may always sojive, that they may never be 
afraid to die. 

The morrow saw our friend Mr. Pendleton on his 
way to the Judge's mansion, with his policy of in- 
surance ; feeling more like a man and a Christian 
than he had ever felt before. And why should he 
not ? He was not afraid to die ! Why should 
he be? 



38 GEORGE CARDWELL J T)R, 



CHAPTER V. 

" Gtood morning, Judge ; I suppose I'm rather 
early, but I was anxious to have that matter 
settled about that Life Insurance, and so I have 
come to have that talk." 

" Not at all too early ; good morning. I'm 
glad you have come so early, as I am quite at 
leisure : walk into my library, — take a seat by 
the table, while I hand down some books on the 
subject ; you know we lawyers like to be backed 
by authority. Are you aware, Mr. Pendleton, that 
this matter of Life Insurance is no new thing 
under the sun ? Here is an old worm-eaten book, 
nearly a hundred years old, three hundred pages, 
all on the subject of Life Insurance." 

" No, Judge ; I was not aware that Life Insurance 
had so remote a beginning. I supposed it was of 
comparative recent origin." 

" No, sir, it is quite of ancient date, but only 
recently introduced into this country, and made 



A MONTH IN A COUNTRY PARISH. 39 

available to almost all classes. We will not, 
however, at this time, follow its history, but at 
once proceed to the main points, and explain the 
operation of the system, or rather science ; for it 
is a science, Mr. Pendleton, an exact science, de- 
pending upon certain natural laws, as immutable 
as death. Able men, — men of great skill in ma- 
thematics, — have devoted their lives to the sub- 
ject, and the results of their investigation is 
bringing about blessings to thousands of families 
that otherwise would have been sunk in poverty 
and crime. 

" Here is a book which treats of the duration of 
human life, with tables of mortality, showing how 
long men, at every age, live on an average. These 
are the tables by which the premiums for in- 
surance are calculated. When we know how long 
men will live on an average, it is easy to tell how 
much money will be laid aside, or put into a 
common fund, every year, to amount to a certain 
sum at the death of any one of the lives, making 
up the element of common average. In common 
life each person is but an individual, and in that 
capacity cannot tell when he may be called upon 
to give an account of his stewardship. This un- 
certainty as regards the individual, is neutralized 
when many individuals are associated for a 



40 GEORGE CARDWELI' J OR, 

common object like that of Life Insurance, se- 
curing to each atom of the mass an equal share 
of the advantages secured by the whole. In other 
words, investigation and close research has resulted 
in a knowledge of how long a body of men of any 
given age live on an average, some living a shorter 
time, and some longer. "We therefore know how 
long they live as a class, and can, from such data, 
safely calculate how much each should contribute, 
to secure a certain sum at the death of any of 
that body. A great many ways have been devised 
for making available to all classes the great ad- 
vantages of Life Insurance. Some engage to pay 
an annual premium, — this is the most common 
mode ; some pay in one sum, and some in 
a specific number of payments, say five or ten ; 
some insure by depositing a certain sum, with the 
liberty to withdraw all the deposits, and still have ^ 
a small insurance left them. 

" I insure my life, and pay the premium in 
annual payments, in cash, as I can well spare 
the money ; but some who are engaged in active 
business, and who need all the money they can 
command in their business, and yet are desirous 
of securing a considerable amount of insurance, pay 
but half of the annual premium in cash, and for 
the other half give a note on interest, which they 



A MONTH IN A COUNTRY PARISH. 41 

propose taking up when their business will allow 
the withdrawal of a portion of their active funds. 
This is a very good plan for such, and tends large- 
ly to extend the benefits of the system. 

" "What is your age, Mr. Pendleton ? Let 
us see how much it will cost you for an 
insurance on your life, say for two thousand 
dollars ; that is the amount I believe of the 
mortgage on your farm, and I always think it a 
good plan to insure for enough to pay off the 
mortgage, if one has them, and thus leave the 
home clear and unencumbered to the wife and 
children." 

" Well, Judge, I am just forty years old this 
month ; but, Judge, why would it not be a 
good plan to insure for a little more than the 
mortgage V 9 

" It would, my friend, be a very good plan to 
do so, provided you can meet the premium with- 
out difficulty." 

" Of course, Judge, one must be careful, and 
not cramp himself too much ; but would it not 
be a good plan, when it can be done, to insure, 
for say five hundred dollars more than the mort- 
gage, as that would give the family a little ready 
cash to help in settling the estate." 

" Well thought of, Mr. Pendleton. I have, as 



42 



GEORGE CARDWELL ; OR, 



Judge of Probate, known several estates suffer 
great loss for the want of five hundred dollars in 
ready money ; and I have known the families of 
rich men positively suffer for the want of a little 
ready cash, just at the time when, although pos- 
sessed of a large property, they could not control 
it. Well thought of, Mr. Pendleton. Now, then, 
let us see what it will cost to insure your life, for 
when you see how little outlay will secure so large 
a sum as twenty-five hundred dollars, I am sure 
you will not hesitate to say you will insure your 
life. Age forty years, one thousand costs thirty-two 
dollars ; two thousand, sixty-four dollars ; five 
hundred, sixteen dollops ; in all, eighty dollars ; 
just even money. Now, Mr. Pendleton, don't you 
think it best to insure your life at once ?" 

"Yes, Judge, I do; and, to prove my sincerity 
I will thank you to look at this piece of parch- 1 
ment." 

" Oh, oh ! my friend, a pious fraud. First go 
and do as your conscience dictates, and then come 
and get my opinion. I have half a mind to charge 
you a legal fee ! But, seriously, Mr. Pendleton, I 
am gratified, for I see it is of recent date ; but 
yesterday. ' If 'twere done when 'tis done, then 
'twere well it were done quickly,' I see is your 
motto." 



A MONTH IN A COUNTRY PARISH. 43 

" Yes, Judge, that is my motto ; and I have 
acted upon it. I never let the grass grow under 
my feet when I have a duty to perform. The 
quiet sleep of last night, and the joy I 'now feel, 
have quite compensated me for the cost of that 
policy. I feel that I have recovered my youth, 
and taken a new lease of life ; and now, so far 
as my wife and children are concerned, as regards 
the possession of the farm, I have no fear of the 
'pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the 
sickness that destroy eth at noon-day.' My hand 
is nerved for renewed action. I can face difficulties 
with a good courage, and sing lustily for the very 
joy of my heart." 

" My good friend, you are eloquent ; it does my 
heart good to listen to you. I forgive you for the 
fraud practised on me, and wish you joy in your 
new acquisition !" 

"Acquisition you may well call it, Judge, for 
I esteem my policy to all intents and purposes as 
good as so much money in the Savings Bank, — 
perhaps better. If I had so much money in the 
Bank, I might be tempted to use it in some 
inviting speculation, and hazard every dollar. And 
although I am not of a speculative turn of mind, 
I must confess I have been sorely tempted to get 
a living in some easier mode than working our 



44 GEORGE CARDWELL ; OR, 

rocky soil, and have often wished I had a few 
hundred dollars to try my hand at some specula- 
tion. Now, with this Policy of Insurance, the 
craving speculating demon is kept down. Time, 
that important element of accumulation, is gained. 
We don't hasten to get rich, but are satisfied with 
well-doing ; knowing that in time we shall surely 
accumulate if we faint not. By this Policy of 
Insurance I am assured of time ; I am not assured 
of my life, — the title is a misnomer. It should be 
called a Time Insurance Policy ; for it guarantees 
to my family the time necessary to acquire a 
competency — for should Grod, in his wisdom, not 
allow me the time to accomplish certain ends, 
He has endowed me with a mind to appreciate, 
and a will to procure for my family an equivalent 
compensation for that time in the Policy of 
Assurance on my time of this mortal pilgrimage. 5 
Take away, Judge, this zeal to get rich fast, and 
the risks of business would in most cases cease. 
The great wealth of the few, and the poverty of 
the masses, would, to a great extent, be modified. 
Prudence and thrift would everywhere be seen, 
and the world would be wiser and better." 

" "Without doubt, Mr. Pendleton, such would be 
the result of a general and sytematic adoption 
of the benefits of the institution of Life Insurance. 



A MONTH IN A COUNTRY PARISH. 45 

Would that all could take the enlarged and 
humanizing view of the subject that you do. 
You came here to be taught of me. Surely, sir, 
I am the pupil, and you the teacher. The science, 
sir, I may understand, but the application of that 
science to the every-day wants ' of man, as we 
find them, I confess I have yet to learn. You, 
sir, speak as by inspiration." 

" Inspiration ! the subject is a holy one, and 
calculated to infuse a holy fire in the heart and 
soul of all who have the true heart of flesh. To 
the stony heart, and him who careth not for his 
own, he who is denounced as worse than an 
infidel, — for such it hath no charms, on the 
hearts of such it hath no potency. Grod grant 
that the great sin of the parent may not be visited 
upon the children." 

" Amen." 

" Good morning, Judge." 

" G-ood* morning, my good friend." 

The man of law and the farmer parted, each 
in a happy frame of mind, and each determined 
to make a new effort for the furtherance of the 
good work of Life Insurance. 

And what good can every man accomplish with 
but a little effort. All men have more or less 
influence, and if each would but exert that 



46 GEORGE CARDWELL J OR, 

influence on but one person in this direction, 
what vast numbers would flock to the insurance 
offices, and how numberless would be the blessings 
invoked upon the heads of those who were in- 
strumental in urging to a consummation, these 
numerous insurances. What oceans of tears 
would be saved to the widowed mother ! What 
a world of anguish would be assuaged ! What 
songs of joy would go forth from the dwellings 
of the land ! What rejoicing among the angels 
of heaven for the virtue guaranteed to the sons 
and daughters of the earth ! 



A MONTH IN A COUNTRY PARISH. 47 



CHAPTER VI. 

Let us now look in at the house of the widowed 
mother, but not with idle curiosity. Grief is a 
holy thing, and to mourn for those we have loved is 
to be esteemed a privilege. Say not to the crush- 
ed heart, " Do not weep." The grave of Lazarus 
was wet with the tears of the " Prince of the 
House of David. " "Weep, therefore, daughters of 
sorrow, else would your hearts burst, and your 
life be crushed beneath its load of anguish. 

Mrs. Cardwell is just such a woman as such a 
husband as Greorge Cardwell would be supposed 
to have for a wife. Affectionate and confiding, 
and wholly devoted to the welfare of her husband 
and children, the sudden blow which had come 
upon her had well nigh extinguished her earthly 
light, and her sorrow was of the deepest shade. 
But her sorrow was not as of one without hope, 
for as the six feet of solid earth which her kind 



48 GEORGE CARDWELL ; OR, 

neighbors had the day previous gently east upon 
the body of her husband, was but as crystal to 
her eyes of love, so her eyes of faith saw far off 
in the starry heavens the disembodied spirit of the 
father of her children. 

Mrs. Cardwell was a well-educated and exceed- 
ingly intelligent woman, of excellent judgment, 
and of deep religious feeling ; and without doubt 
exerted no little influence on the mind of her late 
husband. Greorge Cardwell was not a man to de- 
spise the counsel of his wife ; and the more so, 
inasmuch as his wife was not a woman who at- 
tempted to control or urge a measure not sustained 
by good, sound sense, and made plain and irre- 
sistible by a happy and affectionate manner. 

It was Mrs. Cardwell who first suggested the sub- 
ject of an insurance on the life of her husband. 
Not until she had well considered the matter in all 
its bearings, did she broach the subject. Her own 
father had an insurance on his life ; and when she 
was left fatherless, her education depended mainly 
on the income derived from that source. " But 
what will he think, should I suggest such a 
thing ? Will he think I am selfish, and desire 
it for my own sake. Oh ! that he would but sug- 
gest it to me, and relieve me of a painful duty. 
Yes, duty. But, then, men have so much to oc- 



A MONTH IN A COUNTRY PARISH. 49 

cupy their attention, and so little time to think of 
such things, that it's no wonder he does not think 
of it. Is it my duty to speak to him ? If it is, 
why should I hesitate ? Do I do my husband jus- 
tice, in thus procrastinating and putting in jeopardy 
every day the welfare of our dear children ? Do I 
not but illy appreciate his love for me and these 
little ones, in thus fearing to speak to him, who 
has never refused compliance with a reasonable 
request ?" 

These and many other such reflections, were, for 
a long time, passing in the mind of Mrs. Cardwell ; 
but such a mind could not always resist the urgings 
of duty. 

Mr. Cardwell received the proposition with great 
deference for the opinions of his wife ; and gave 
the subject such thought as a solid, sensible man 
should bestow upon any business matter. The re- 
sult was, that he effected an insurance on his life, 
as has been found by the Judge ; and more, he 
felt under a load of obligations to his wife for the 
performance of her duty ; though he felt like scold- 
ing her for a want of promptness, in not earlier 
urging the measure which, since its consumma- 
tion, had furnished him with so much consolation. 

Three weeks has now passed, since the grave 
closed over the remains of Greorge Cardwell. 

3 



50 GEORGE CARDWELL ; OR, 

One sheet of fleecy snow has rested on the little 
mound in the distant churchyard. 

The widow has just returned from the village, 
where she has been for the purpose of receiving 
the money for the insurance on the life of her 
departed husband, and paying off the mortgage 
on her farm. 

What a day of grief has this been to the late 
happy wife, and yet not entirely without relief 
to the stricken heart of Lucy Cardwell. She was 
too well schooled in her religious duty and faith, 
to think that the trials she was now passing through 
were other than for good. The memory of her de- 
parted husband was sweet : and as he, in his time, 
had done so much to provide for those he left be- 
hind, what pleasure would she not experience in 
carrying out his designs. 

Jtidge Mason had accompanied Mrs. Cardwell to 
the village, and lent his aid in settling the policy 
of insurance and obtaining a proper satisfaction 
of the mortgage ; and when he put the widow 
down at her door, from his own gig, she not only 
had a clean deed of the farm, but a certificate of 
deposite for twelve hundred dollars. 

This sum, although small, was quite sufficient 
for all their purposes. With a small but good 
farm, free from encumbrance of any kind, and with 



A MONTH IN A COUNTRY PARISH. 51 

money at interest, this little family are as comfort- 
ably off as possible. 

The mother, possessed of an education beyond 
the common grade, does much to aid her children 
in their lessons. 

Greorge is past eleven years old, and does a great 
deal towards assisting his mother in the affairs of 
the farm, which, by-the-by, needs at this season but 
little attention, everything having been but recently 
put into winter quarters with great care, by his 
father. 

Sarah, a girl nine years old, is of service indoors, 
in aiding her mother in the care of her younger 
brothers and sisters. 

An air of Christian resignation is manifest 
throughout the well-ordered household, which tells, 
far more emphatically than words, of that peace 
of mind which a conscious performance of duty al- 
ways engenders. 



52 GEORGE CARDWELL I OR, 



CHAPTER VII. 

We should have been pleased to close our month 
in the country in the quiet home of the Widow 
Cardwell ; but the faithful historian of the events 
of this short period must needs leave that compa- 
paratively humble dwelling, and look in upon the 
group which surrounds the couch of that good friend 
of everybody, Judge Mason. 

The Judge had, for some two years, been a 
great sufferer from a diseased liver. He had but 
recently returned from a visit to Europe, under- 
taken for the benefit of his health, having expe- 
rienced great benefit from travel, and, as was sup- 
posed by himself and his physician, an entire 
restoration to his wonted health. 

Unusual exposure, during one of his visits to an 
indigent neighbor, had resulted in a vigorous attack 
of his former disease, under which he rapidly 
sank ; and, after an illness of three days, termi- 
nated his career of usefulness on earth, to the 



A MONTH IN A COUNTRY PARISH. 53 

great loss of all his neighbors, and especially to 
those who needed his counsel and kind words of 
encouragement. 

Judge Mason was a widower, with one daugh- 
ter and three grand-children — two boys and one 
girl, orphan children of his son, John Marshall 
Mason. 

As has been before stated, he was possessed of a 
moderate fortune in his own right, with a life-interest 
in the estate on which he resided ; which estate 
fell to his daughter, now a maiden lady of fifty, 
who also was in the receipt of an annuity of some 
eight hundred dollars, from the Manhattan Life In- 
surance Company of New- York, settled upon her 
by her father, when he had good reason to suppose 
she had reached her highest point of attraction, 
without having conquered a solitary heart. Nancy 
Mason was better than she looked ; and, notwith- 
standing her lack of personal beauty, she was loved 
by all her neighbors, among whom she spent much 
of her time, when not engaged with her orphan 
charge at home, in works of love and charity — a 
fit daughter of such a sire. 

In the will of Judge Mason, he gave to his three 
grand-children all his personal estate, amounting 
to some thirty thousand dollars, and two policies 
of insurance on his life for ten thousand dollars 



54 GEORGE CARDWELL J OR, 

each ; and to the parish school, the proceeds of 
another policy for five thousand dollars. 

Thus ended a long life of usefulness and Chris- 
tian benevolence. The same organ whose solemn 
peal shook the atmosphere of the village church 
but one month ago, as the funeral procession en- 
tered its doors with the body of George Cardwell, 
the humble farmer, gave forth now the same sound. 
The same invisible choir were heard to chant the 
same words ; and the words, " dust to dust, ashes 
to ashes, earth to earth," are followed with the 
same mingling of elements at the obsequies of 
Judge Mason. 



APPENDIX, 



INSURANCE OF THE LI7ES OP CLERGYMEN. 



The insurance of the lives of clergymen, by their 
people, is a subject demanding earnest attention. It 
should be the uniform and settled policy of every 
congregation of Christian worshippers, when they 
have installed over them a minister, to insure his life 
for the benefit of his family. The cost is but little, 
and should be cheerfully borne by the people. He 
preaches but to little effect, who does not soon make 
his people understand their duty in this respect. It 
is useless for him to endeavor to teach them, that it 
is " ordained, that they who preach the Grospel, should 
live of the Grospel." The Committee of the Conven- 
tion of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the Dio- 
cese of New-York, having the matter of Parochial 
Support in charge, in their report recommended an 
adoption of a measure having in view the insurance 
on the lives of the rectors. This is as it should be, 
and especially as the Canons of the Church forbid 
secular employment to its clergy. 



56 APPENDIX. 



CRIME AND ITS CAUSES. 



A census has recently been taken of the prostitutes 
in the City of New- York, from which we learn that a 
large accession to the ranks of this most unhappy 
class was made in the winter of 1854-5, — a winter 
long to he remembered for the distress among the 
poor in our cities. Many a poor girl, driven to the 
last extremity, not only by their own wants, but by 
the wants of a mother, and orphan sisters and broth- 
ers, at their garret home, have gone forth on the streets, 
for wages which the depressed state of trade would 
not allow for honest toil. 

By the same official document do we learn that the 
ages of these unhappy females range from 12 to 40 
years. That the average age is but nineteen, and 
that but few reach the age of thirty. That the 
early grave, in the Potter's Field, closes their life of 
misery. 

Now the ranks are kept full from the poorer classes, 
not because the poor are more prone to evil than the 
rich ; far from it. But it is because they are poor, 
and unable to protect themselves when the day of 



APPENDIX 57 

trial and temptation comes upon them. The daugh- 
ter of the rich man is exempt from the insult of the 
rich man's son, while the daughter of the poor man 
is but the easy prey to the coward, who would not 
dare strike in a quarter where he would have reason 
to look for as good as he sent. 



58 APPENDIX. 



RELIEF FOR WIDOWS AND ORPHANS. 



The enormous amounts which have been paid by 
Life Insurance Companies, seem almost fabulous. 

The sums paid in the State of New- York alone 
for the last two years, exceed in the aggregate 
Eleven Hundred Thousand Dollars. 

The amount paid since the organization of the 
Albion Life Insurance Company — fifty years — ex- 
ceeds Eight Millions of Dollars. 



APPENDIX. 59 



Bibliographical (Eatalaguc 



OF 



¥0fiKS ON LIFE INSURANCE, ETC, 



William Purser — 
Value of Annuities, etc. London. . 1634 

John Newton — 

Value of Annuities. London. . . 1658 

William Brown — 
Entering Clerk's Vade Mecum. 

London, 1674, 1678 ; Latin, 1695, 1700 

Captain John Grant, F. R. S. — 

On Bills of Mortality. London, . . 1676 

Adam Martindale — 

Twelve Problems, etc.. .... 1681 

Sir W. Petty, F. R. S.— 

An Essay concerning the Multiplication of 

Mankind, etc. London, . . 1682 

Edmund Halley, LL.D., F. R. S. — 

Annuities, etc. Phil. Trans. Jan. . . 1692 



60 APPENDIX. 

John Ward — 

Annuities. London, .... 1698 

Abraham De Moivre, F. R. S. — 

Annuities. London, . . . . 1725 

Samuel Marshall — 

Law of Insurance. London, . . 1823 

Thomas Simpson, F. R. S. — 
Annuities. London, .... 1791 

John Junes — 

Dissertation on Arithmetic of Annuities. 

Edinburgh, 1741 

Antoine De Parcieux, Sen. — 

Essai sur les Probabilities de la duree a la 

Vie Humaine. Paris, . . . 1746 

James Hodgson, F. R. £.— 

Annuities upon Lives. London Bills of Mor- 
tality. London, .... 1747 

George Louis he Clerc, Comte de Buffon — 

Tables of Mortality. Paris, . . . 1749 

Corbyn Morris, F. R. S. — ■ 

Essay, etc. London, . . 1747, 1751, 1758 

James Dodson, F. R. S.— 

Phil. Trans. Jan 1754 

Rev. Richard Price, D.D., F. R. S.— 

Essays, etc., 1779. 1783, London. 

Charles Brand— 

Treatise on Assurances. London, . 1775 



APPENDIX. 61 

Rev. John Aclaiul — 

A Plan for rendering the Poor independent of 

Public Contributions. Exeter, . 1786 

William Barton — 
Probabilities of Human Life in the United 

States. Trans. Am. Soc. . . 1793 

John Hey sham, M. D. — 

Observations at Carlisle from 1779 to 1787. 

Carlisle, 1797 

Francis Bailey, F. R. S. — 

Account of several Life Insurance Companies. 

London, . ' , . . - . 1810 

Joshua Milne — 

Annuities and Mortality, etc. London, - 1815 

Frederick Blayney— 

Treatise on Life Assurance. London, . 1826 

George Farren— 

A Treatise on Life Assurance. London, 1823 

Observations on Laws of Mortality and Dis- 
ease, etc. London, . . . 1829 

Griffith Davis — 

Life Annuities. London, . . . 1825 

Charles Babbage — 

Life Assurance — Comparative view of differ- 
ent Institutions for Assurance of Lives. 
London, ..... 1826 



62 APPENDIX. 

Hector Davies Morgan, M. A, Trinity Col- 
lege, Oxford — 
Providing Assurances for the Poor. Oxford, 1830 

David Jones — 

Annuities and Assurances. London, . 1844 



DANA AND COMPANY, 

No. 381 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, 

{Sign of the Imperial Folio Bible\ 

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C|e $00k uf Cwraram |j ragov 

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•» ♦ » 



Other New Publications of Dana and Company. 

UNISON OF THE LITURGY; Being an Exhibition of 
the Harmony of the Subject contained in the Collect for 
each Sunday in the year, with the Epistle, the Gospel, and 
the Lessons for that day ; and of its accordance with a cor- 
responding Topic in the Church's Catechism, and in her 
Articles of Religion. From Advent to Ash Wednesday. 
By Archer Gifford, A. M. 12mo., 328 pages. 

Price, $1. 

A large number of the most distinguished Bishops, Clergymen 
and Laymen of the Church, to whom a specimen of this work con- 
taining the Sundays in Advent was submitted, some months since, have 
concurred in testifying to its felicitousness in conception, and its faith- 
fulness in execution, and in the expression of the hope that the author 
would go on and complete that which had been so happily begun. 

7 



Publications of Dana and Company. 



SERMONS FOR THE TIMES. By the Rev. Charles 
Kingsley, Author of " Village Sermons" " Alton Locke" 
&c. 12mo., 360 pages. Price, 75 cents. 

These Sermons are Kingsley all over ; deep, daring, dashing, pene- 
trating vigorous, sfcsfc^****'******** 
It strikes us as being a kind of preaching that we want just now 
— that it is indeed preaching "for the times;" in character with 
the times, and, therefore, adapted for the times : yet, not in any 
spirit of compromise with the world therein, but rather combating 
the spirit of the world with the Spirit of Christ, in a matter-of- 
fact way. "We think, therefore, that the Clergy may find some use- 
ful hints in the pages of this volume, while the Laity may peruse 
them with practical advantage. Churchman. 

These are remarkable Sermons, as were those of his former volume. 
They are models of a plain and direct style, sparkling with forcible 
allusions and applications. They illustrate the teaching of our Cate- 
chism to a considerable extent, and often in the happiest manner, 
regarding it as a symbol of Catholic truth. They are worth reading 
for their power and demonstrations of most important doctrines, little 
heeded in these times, when the Puritan and Sectarian spirit seeks to 
prevail. Banner of the Gross. 

This is a reprint of one of the most characteristic, if not one of the 
most extraordinary volumes of the day, which no one can read with- 
out interest, and few without profit. There is something striking, not 
to say startling, about everything the author says ; and yet the lan- 
guage is so simple and appropriate, as to be perfectly intelligible to 
every one. Calendar. 

A capital volume it is — his style seems to gain in directness, crisp- 
ness, vigor, and momentum, as he grows older. It is as clear as Eng- 
lish can be made. A healthy common sense rules throughout. * * 
* * * * j n our <j a y wnen muddy heads do so greatly abound, a 
volume of such sturdy, pungent, powerful and illuminating Saxon, is 
of the highest worth. Church Journal. 

They are incomparable Sermons for Xay-reading. 

10 



Publications of Dana and Company. 



IMPRESSIONS OF ENGLAND. By the Rev. A. Cleve- 
land Coxe. 12mo., 340 pages. Price, $1. 

The Rev. A. Cleveland Coxe has done a great favor to the early 
Subscribers of the Church Journal, by collecting and publishing in a 
volume, the Impressions of England, which were so prominent and 
popular a feature of our paper during nearly the first year of its 
existence. To those early subscribers of ours, nothing beyond the 
bare announcement of the publication need be said, to recal the vivid 
memory of those delightful letters. But, for the sake of the more 
than three thousand that have been added since, we would say, that 
the volume, as a whole, is even more attractive, than were the weekly 
instalments then so keenly enjoyed. Mr. Coxe's local knowledge of 
England, even before he landed on its shores, was extraordinary ; and 
it has enabled him to stock his pages with a richness, fulness and 
variety of allusion, which perpetually kindles new interest. His 
faculties of observation are more than commonly keen ; and his com- 
mand of language is equally graphic and vigorous. Singular good 
fortune seems to have attended him also. Lucky chances, such as 
common tourists may light on one or two, seem to have been showered 
on him at every turn. Incidents that have already become historic, 
are stamped, with freshest life, on every portion of the work. Again, 
as if before our eyes, Lord John Russell figures in the disgraceful and 
contemptible mad farce of the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill. Again we 
see the Iron Duke bowing in lowly worship in the Chapel Royal of 
St. James. Again we wander under the vast long-drawn, and diaphan- 
ous expanse of the Crystal Palace. Again we rove from Cathedrals 
to Churches, and Colleges, and ruined Abbeys, and sequestered ham- 
lets, and breathe the pure rural air of living England, yet scented 
with the rich aroma of a glorious past. The essential unity of the 
two nations is ever uppermost in Mr. Coxe's mind ; yet never, even in 
the Royal presence, does he forget his native Republicanism. His 
heart beats true and strong for the freedom and purity of the Reform- 
ation, and against the slavish corruptions of Rome ; yet yearns, 
with deepest love, towards everything rightly belonging to our dear 
Mother the Church ; and his trumpet rings out clear, with no uncer- 
tain note, against all who would mar her full proportion of " the 
beauty of holiness." In short, we are- with the author, as it were 
■personally, from the beginning to the end of the volume : and when 
we lay it down, it is with an instinctive asking— "Shall we never 
travel with this charming companion again ?" Church Journal. 

11 



Publications of Dana and Company. 



IMPRESSIONS OF ENGLAND. By the Rev. A. Cleve- 
land Coxe. 12mo., 340 pages. Price, $1. 

American Churchmen will find this the most delightful account of 
a visit to our mother country and mother Church, that has ever 
appeared. It was made in an interesting and memorable year, 1851 ; 
and the reputation which had preceded the author as a poet, scholar," 
and clergyman, procured for him at once a peculiarly cordial recep- 
tion, and such an intimate access to the various phases of English 
society, as is rarely enjoyed by American travellers. Thus supplied 
with an unusual richness of material, he has produced a volume 
which will be read with universal interest and pleasure in both 
countries. Banner of the Cross. 

Though these sketches are descriptive of subjects with which we 
are all more or less familiar, yet it is both entertaining and instructive 
to trace the impressions received by a man of talent, education and 
refinement, who has avoided the common places of travel, and taken 
no delight in spying out the miseries of the land, but rather exhibited 
those phases of society, and higher points of English civilization, 
which give character and dignity to the English nation. 

Protestant Churchman. 

Books of travel and sojourn in England, have been so common, 
that we feel almost reluctant to take up a new work of this descrip- 
tion ; but we were agreeably disappointed in the volume before us. 
Mr. Coxe went abroad with many advantages. A Clergyman of the 
Church of England, with no mean reputation as a Christian poet : 
with many old correspondents of clerical and social repute " in the 
land whither he went," and to whom, of course, he was accredited ; 
and, moreover, with a determination not to be a one-sided observer, 
or a growling commentator ; with all these advantages, it is not sur- 
prising that he "enjoyed himself;" and that he does not hesitate to 
say so, on ail occasions, and in the most enthusiastic terms. 

The Knickerbocker Monthly Magazine. 

These agreeable sketches, which appeared originally in the columns 
of the ISTew York Church Journal, are now presented to the readers 
in a revised and connected form. 

They do not embrace the tedious routine of "books of travel"- — 
life at hotels, travelling in stage coaches or by rail, dimensions of 
public buildings, etc., etc., — all of which have been given an hundred 
times before in every diversity of form, — but rather give us pictures 
of English society, customs, men, manners, and events, embracing, as 
the author justly claims, a connected history of Great Britain for the 
year 1851, with readable sketches of many of its most prominent 
men — Whigs and Tories. Troy Daily Whig. 

12 



Publications of Dana and Company. 



OUR CHURCH MUSIC— A Booh for Pastors and People. 
By Richard Storrs Willis. 12mo., 138 pages. 

Price , 50 cents. 

The Church has a good right to look to Mr. Richard S. Willis, as 
being, perhaps, of all our youthful native musicians, the one of whom 
she may expect the most true hearted and efficient service. His train- 
ing, however scientific, has not been that which would qualify him 
the most readily for usefulness in this field : but there is an earnest 
devotion of spirit, a reaching forth after the deep and the true, a 
growing strength and manliness, exercised and made firm by a steady 
industry, which promise the best results. He has just issued a neat 
little volume on Our Church Music, a Book for Pastors and People, 
which is the best and most thoughtful practical essay that has for a 
long time appeared among us. Church Journal. 



Were it not for the copyright on this admirable book, we should 
be compelled to transfer large portions of it to our pages. As it is, 
we hope to give, hereafter, some specimens of it, and in the mean 
time, cordially recommend it for its interest and the usefulness of its 
suggestions. JEJpiscopal Recorder. 

Many of the articles collected in this pleasant and thoughtful 
volume have been already published in our columns ; and we are glad 
to know that they have attracted that attention among our readers 
which they deserve. The series is now completed, by the addition of 
others, not so well adapted to a journal like this, because requiring 
diagrams, etc., to illustrate them, but harmonious with those in tone 
and teaching, and equally rich in useful suggestions. Mr. Willis has 
brought the finest musical cultivation of Europe to assist him in his 
task, but has never allowed his artistic taste and knowledge to over- 
lay and smother his native good sense, or his instinctive perception 
of what is demanded in true church music. We have found his 
writings on this subject instructive and quickening; the more so, per- 
haps, because our own half-formed thoughts have often been brought 
back to us by him, more fully and clearly expressed than they had 
been to ourselves, and clothed with the authority that belongs to one 
who is so rapidly becoming a recognised Master in his chosen depart- 
ment. Independent. 

13 



Publications of Dana and Company. 



THE NIGHTINGALE. — A Tale of the Russian War 
Forty Years Ago — Beautifully Illustrated. ISmo., 96 
pages. Muslin. Price, 31 cents. 

Paper covers, 16 cents. 

The Nightingale, or A Kind Act is Never Lost, is a pleasant little 
Tale, from the German of Christopher Schmid. The incidents are 
laid in the Russian war, forty years ago, and among the many warm 
sympathizers with Russia now abounding among us, this interesting 
little story will be welcomed with more than common zest. It is 
intended for children, and teaches a moral of the law of kindness — 
not by tagging the moral to the end of the story, but by making it 
the living principle which gives life to the whole. It is handsomely 
gotten up, with several spirited wood-cuts, printed in tint. 

Church Journal. 

This is a beautiful story, from the German of Christoph Schmid, 
exquisitely told, about a poor lad who wanted to be a carriage-maker, 
and was befriended by a great lady, and learned his trade, and came 
to affluence and power, and saved the life of the son of his benefac- 
tress. The moral is happily pointed, and the story, though simple in 
its plot, attracts great interest by its touches of sentiment and pathos. 

Protestant Churchman. 

A pretty story beautifully published. Hartford Daily Courant. 

■ 
A pleasant little narrative. * * * * It is beautifully and 

suitably illustrated. Troy Daily Whig. 

This is a sweet and instructive tale, from one of the most popular 
German writers, and is done into English by a competent hand. 

The Calendar. 

THINGS TO BE REMEMBERED. — Arranged as Sup- 
plementary to the Church Catechism. S2mo., 16 pages, 
for the Pocket. Price, $4.00 per hundred. 

An admirable and comprehensive summary, in which the chief 
subjects of additional catechetical instruction are most conveniently 
grouped, so as best to aid the youthful memory. 



22 



GEORGE CARDWELL j 



OB, 



% Pratfe in a Coiintrg f arisjf. 



BY N. D. MORGAN. 



NEW-YORK : 

DANA AND COMPANY, 

381 Broad way. 

1856. 



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